The Scoop

Yesterday was the counted-down-to due date. I also happened to have a doctor’s appointment that day. It proved to be rather interesting and changed my plans a bit.

As he did the ultrasound, he said, “Do you remember what he was weighing last week?”

“Mm. I don’t know,” I said, “I think it was almost eight pounds.”

“Hmm,” was his response. “This shows him at about 10 pounds.”

WHAA-UUT?

I don’t put too much stock on those ultrasound weight estimates. I’ve read often that they can easily be off a pound in either direction, and sometimes as much as two pounds. Still, having already seen his head measuring fairly big all along, confronting the possibility that he might also be ten pounds was a bit . . . scary.

At the beginning of my appointment I had said that I still didn’t want to be induced, but that I thought much more than a week late and I might have lost my mind completely, so I suggested we give him another week to come on his own and then, if he still hadn’t, induce me next Friday. Now I began to rethink that plan a bit. Guy (my CNM) said that the fluid looked a little lower than he would like it to be and wanted me to have a non-stress test. The test basically is like being hooked up to the heart monitor they use when you are in labor. They monitor baby’s heart rate for twenty minutes. They like to see at least four movements from baby during that time with accompanying acceleration in the heart rate. They also check that the heart isn’t dipping below some baseline.

Anyway, little fella (or perhaps I should say “big fella”) complied nicely and moved around enough to get the test done in twenty minutes. His heart looked good and gave no real cause for worry, so Guy said I could go another week if I wanted, but that I’d need to come in again on Monday for another non-stress test.

“Well,” I said, “If we are at the point that we need to keep checking if baby is all right inside me, then I think I’d prefer to just get him safely out, so how about, if he hasn’t come by Monday, that I come in for an induction rather than just another non-stress test . . . especially considering he might be ten pounds.”

Guy agreed that was a fine plan, so there you have it. There is an end in sight to this madness. I admit I would still really prefer going into labor on my own, and the weekend would be a perfect time for it, but being overdue isn’t quite so overwhelmingly frustrating when you know it won’t go on forever. This baby is coming by Monday whether he wants to or not.

In the mean time, today is a lovely day. The kids have school off for some reason and other than some conflict about what toys were allowed to attend a toy part Daisy was hosting for the girls, things have been quite lovely. Abe helped me carry the cradle up from the basement and everyone helped wipe it down with tons of baby wipes, then Jesse had a grand time rocking sock monkey to sleep in it; my sister Shannon is flying in from TX with a buddy pass she got from a friend. She is bringing her baby who I have not yet met. My sister Megan is driving down from ID, and we plan on having a fun sisters’ night tonight (minus Kathy who is in Scotland – blast her). Ideally I’d go into labor tonight after the excitement . . . but if not, conference weekend is always great and we’ll see this new little guy on Monday!